Baldfaced Hornet Control in Comfort, TX
The baldfaced hornet usually shows up in Comfort, TX as a question: what is that big, gray, football-shaped paper nest hanging in the tree? If it sits high and away from where people walk, Texas A&M AgriLife's advice is to leave it alone; if it hangs over a doorway, a play area or a stretch you mow, it should be treated by someone wearing protective gear. For an inspection, call or text (210) 281-1064, or request a time online.
What the records say about this hornet in Texas #
AgriLife calls the baldfaced hornet "the only 'hornet' reported in Texas," and the Texas Apiary Inspection Service agrees (AgriLife Field Guide). Even so, it is not a true hornet. It belongs to the yellowjacket family, and University of Florida entomologists describe it simply as a yellowjacket.
Here is the honest part: none of the sources we rely on map where in Texas it lives or say how common it is around Comfort or anywhere in the Hill Country. Penn State describes its range as most of the lower 48 states. So a large paper nest in a Comfort tree could be this hornet, but it is worth confirming before anyone treats it.
Reading the nest from the ground #
You rarely need to get close to identify it:
- Shape: an upside-down pear or football, fully wrapped in grayish-brown paper, up to 3 feet long by AgriLife's measure.
- Entrance: a single opening near the bottom.
- The hornets: about 3/4 inch, black with ivory-white marks on the face and at the tip of the abdomen.
Compare that with the neighbors. Paper wasps hang an open comb with no wrapper. Most yellowjacket nests are underground. A smaller gray paper ball in a tree, with tiny dark wasps, may belong to Mexican honey wasps in Comfort, which store honey and are generally calm.
Oak and juniper country, and nests nobody sees #
Texas Parks and Wildlife describes the Edwards Plateau, where Comfort sits, as a region of juniper and oak woodland (TPWD ecoregions). AgriLife says baldfaced hornet nests usually hang in trees and are almost always above ground, often high up, with an occasional nest on an eave or the side of a building.
Add the size of the countryside. The Comfort census area covers only about 1.5% of the land in the 78013 ZIP code area, according to Census geography files, so many local homes sit on acreage surrounded by brush and trees. The Texas Apiary Inspection Service says hornets are less likely to sting people than other wasps largely because they nest high or in remote places. On a big rural lot, a nest in a far tree line may go unnoticed all season and never cause trouble.
Three questions before you do anything #
If you get too close #
- Cover your head and head for a building or a car. Don't stand and swat, and don't dive into water.
- Don't spray only the outside of the paper. Penn State warns that this angers the colony and raises the sting risk for days.
- AgriLife's E-239 says to treat from at least 10 to 15 feet away and to wear a bee suit or hire a professional (AgriLife E-239).
- Wasps keep their stingers and may sting more than once. AgriLife says the sting can be intensely painful.
Pest Trappers' plan for a hornet nest in Comfort #
First comes identification: your technician confirms whether it is a baldfaced hornet, a yellowjacket colony or a Mexican honey wasp nest, because the answer changes the plan. Then you get a straight recommendation on whether the nest needs treatment at all, an explanation of the options, and label-only product use if treatment goes ahead. Pest Trappers LLC (TPCL #0887549), a family-owned firm, prices the job after that inspection. See the baldfaced hornet guide for more, or browse pest services for Comfort.